Monday, March 31, 2014

Numerous conferences, scientific reports and hard evidence have done little to convince governments that climate change poses a real risk to the world as we know it. We know that global warming is happening and that the emission of greenhouse gases is making a contribution to the rise in temperatures and yet we do little to ease the problem. A rise of 2 degrees from pre industrial levels would not pose a significant risk but allowing warming by 4 degrees would create a vast difference to the world.

The United Nations have now produced a report which paints a very dim picture of the consequences of continuing on the way we are doing. The evidence is already there, polar ice caps are melting as is the permafrost in the Arctic, coral reefs are being killed off and areas of the world are facing mega disasters and heavy rain.

The report says that climate change has already had an effect on world food stocks, crop yields of wheat are in decline and maize is set to follow suit. If we choose to ignore this and the threat of extreme weather as a result of global warming, then poorer regions of the world will face starvation, the potential for wars will increase and people will have to migrate from the affected countries to safer havens.

The issue is that countries like America, one of the largest contributors of greenhouse gas, will do nothing if others like China continue to burn fossil fuels at an alarming rate. Nobody wants to admit to the consequences of what they are doing and accept their responsibility for what is happening and so we just continue on this path to ruin.